I'm completely ignorant of the politics of my own state...

[mikelewis]

Is there a site that can sort of give me a crash course in whose who and whats what?

[rg302200]

1. Here are two that I go to...

Maybe someone will have some different ones....

www.blue88.com

www.ohiodems.org

[Kukesa]

2. Stick around the Ohio forum, mike.

It won't take long for you to catch up.

We're a rowdy bunch, but you won't get bored here.

[Ninga]

3. If possible, get plugged into your local Dem party organization. Also

and DFA (formerly Dean For American, now DEMOCRACY for America) organization. Nothing can replace the experience of on the ground, civic activism.

[Kolesar]

4. The Plain Dealer edited a book of essays on the subject

I read the first chapter. (Hey, I'm busy)

There is a big divide between a conservative south, settled by Virginians and the north, settled by New Englanders and Germans. Those early trends still hold today. The northerners have a community focus and the southerners are individualistic. Dayton is notably Democratic, though.

Politics are quite different between the extremes and it leads to an odd sort of middle as a compromise. It is not working now, though.

It is pretty profound right now how we are losing good paying jobs. Unfortunately, Ohioans have a tradition of getting out of school and going into low skilled work. We are undereducated.

Eric Fingerhut wrote a thesis on this, but the website is gone.

Ohio pols have always given way too much deference to "King Coal" and favored any development with a whiff of coal dust to it. They wanted the miners vote and the owners money. Problem is, the mines are about gone and only 2000 miners are left.